New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
‘AMPLIFY THE VOICES AND BEAUTY’
Historic Black role model depicted on mural in ‘perfect’ spot
NEW HAVEN — Artist Kwadwo Adae attended city schools and was taught about historical area figures such as Eli Whitney, but doesn’t remember hearing a word about notable New Haven son, Edward Alexander Bouchet, the first Black doctoral recipient in the United States.
“I could have used a role model of color in science,” Adae said of Bouchet, who earned his Ph.D. in physics in 1876. “This should have been a name I knew growing up.”
Now thanks to Adae’s insight, Bouchet’s face, name and accomplishments will be known where its needed most.
He has almost completed a colorful, 9-footby-36-foot mural on the side of Community Baptist Church at the intersection of Dixwell Avenue and Henry Street.
The popular muralist has worked on the piece with the help of one of his sons, Kwasi, 16. Bouchet, born in New Haven in 1852, attended Hopkins School, where he was class valedictorian, and graduated Yale University, class of 1874, receiv
ing his doctorate two years later. He died in
1918 and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery.
Once described as “off the scale brilliant,” Bouchet was the sixth person in the Western Hemisphere to earn a doctorate in physics.
His concentration was on the refraction of different kinds of glass, his thesis on measuring refractive light.
The new mural reflects Bouchet’s work with light, depicting three images of him: one darker one to look like an old-fashioned photograph, one in warm red to yellow tones and another in tones from purple to green.
In the finishing touches, facts about Bouchet will be added.
The mural already caught the eye of scientist Ainissa G. Ramirez, who said she was driving down Henry Street like she usually does “and saw this magnificent mural.”
“I knew it was Bouchet and wondered who else knew about this hidden figure of New Haven,” she said, noting she had heard about him only because she was a professor at Yale and at one point saw a portrait of him.
“When I saw the mural, I snapped a picture and posted a tweet about it on Twitter. I got 1,500 likes on that tweet and also found out who was the muralist,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez, a science writer based in New Haven and author of the book, “The Alchemy of Us,” said she drove down Henry Street on another day and introduced herself to Adae and his son and took photographs. She told them she would let people know about the mural and contacted the Register.
“The reason why this personally resonates with me is because I, too, am a Black scientist. I got my Ph.D. from Stanford in materials science over 120 years after he (Bouchet) did. We are connected,” Ramirez said. “He is my academic ancestor and the fact that Bouchet is finally being recognized makes me happy on a very deep level. He was born ahead of his time. The very least I could do is make sure that many people know about him.”
Adae, owner of Adae Fine Art Academy, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Asian history/ public health in 1998 from the University of Rochester; after spending time in the corporate world, he decided to follow his true passion and in 2005 earned a Master of Arts in painting from New
York University.
Adae, a Bethany resident who has numerous notable murals here and abroad, including in India and Guatemala, has said he’s inspired to contribute to the discourse of public art.
His murals, including the one featuring Bouchet, often are funded by grants from various organizations, this time including Yale University, New Haven’s Department of Arts, Culture and Tourism, and Neighborhood Housing Services New Haven.
“Kwadwo Adae’s project is aligned to cultural equity and it a great example about what we mean when we say that we need to preserve Black and brown history, cultural heritage and share stories that are important to our residents,” said Adriane Jefferson, director of the Department of Arts, Culture and Tourism.
“For over a year the Department of Cultural Affairs has been focused on cultural equity and ensuring that everyone has access to the arts and that includes being aware and intentional about where we have art show up as well as having art that is relevant to the community that it is placed in,” Jefferson said.
Jim Paley, executive director of Neighborhood Housing Services, said the location of Adae’s mural on the border of the Dixwell and Newhallville neighborhoods is “absolutely perfect,” because they historically are African-American neighborhoods.
“The decision to honor Dr. Bouchet is truly remarkable in that he was a scholar too often overlooked in the history of New Haven and his contributions to science and academia are significant,” Paley said. “His intellectual prowess deserves recognition, especially in the African-American community.”
Adae said art is a powerful tool of language that allows people to be heard and said he’s committed to painting public art in places that formerly were red-lined communities, such as Newhallville.
Public art allows him to “amplify the voices and beauty that already reside in these spaces,” he has said.